Travel Quick Tip: Slow Down Your Travel

Enjoy the beauty of slow travel and discover precious, surprising moments that will leave you with a lifetime of wonderful memories.

Dear Busy Bee Traveler,

Stop filling your trip itinerary to the brim with activities and sightseeing! Instead, enjoy the beauty of slow travel. By doing so, you will undoubtedly discover precious, surprising moments that will leave you with many wonderful memories.

I’ve personally had to learn this tip the hard way. As a trained planner (i.e. I can manage projects like it’s nobody’s business), I am in the habit of over-planning.

In a professional setting, this is helpful as I can manage project risks with ease and efficiency. In a personal or travel setting, this habit becomes cumbersome and overly rigid.

Over the years, I’ve had to force myself to turn down my inner planner and turn up my real travel values.

My favorite type of travel experience is a mix of blissful relaxation (i.e. wake up when I want, go out if I want, and read and read and read) + some day trips.

While I am all for “seeing the sights,” I also like to take things slow and leisurely and travel more deeply. Quality over quantity is my jam.

In this way, I feel I am able to soak up the essence of a place, through observation and regular, lived experiences, like going to the local market or taking a walk that leads nowhere in particular.

And so, for your next trip:

Figure out your travel style and stay true to it!

Challenge yourself to slow it down.

Experience your chosen locale moment-by-moment, rather than as a series of quick stops and camera snaps.

While it may feel heart-breaking to miss just one more sight, you may also miss out on a fantastic conversation with a local artist, or even your friendly cafe server.

Sometimes the famous sights don’t give you your best travel memories–rather, it’s the people and small moments you find along the way that often do!

To la dolce e lenta vita,

KP

P.S. Do you have a travel question you’d like me to answer, or a travel topic you’d like me to cover? Email me and let me know–I’ll feature it on a future Travel Quick Tip post! 🙂

4 thoughts on “Travel Quick Tip: Slow Down Your Travel”

Could not agree more! The older I’ve gotten, the more I appreciate downtime while abroad. I still have to fight the urge to over-plan sometimes, but I’m now making a conscious effort to slow down and enjoy the experiences. It’s been a learning process much like yourself, but I’m getting there! Also, I’ve noticed slowing down goes really well with a glass of wine. wink wink